Something Beautiful
by ShepherdsFerryboat
Summary: Meredith and Derek are married. Meredith in the middle of her residency and Derek, an attending, are raising a 3 year old little boy, that is having trouble with his development. Meredith and Derek find out something that changes their lives. How will Meredith and Derek and the Seattle Grace family take it? (Periodical fluff with long chapters) (Rated T, just in case)
1. Chapter 1

Derek walked out of room 2117, chart in hand and headed towards the nurses' station.

"Hey Tyler." Derek acknowledged before putting the chart down.

"Hey Dr. Shepherd." Tyler replied with a smile and pointed to the floor. Derek responded with a confused face.

'Thank you' Derek mouth back to him once he figured out what the nurse had been referring to. Tyler nodded his head and got up and went to check on a patient.

Derek rounded the desk and bent down on one knee to be eye level with the little boy under the desk.

"What are you doing down here pal?" Derek asked the boy who just tucked his knees further into his chest.

"Is quiet down here dada."

"It is quiet Dillon, but you can't stay here. We've got to get you back to daycare."

"No! No! I no like there dada. I wanta go home."

"Tell you what. Dada doesn't have a surgery until 4, so until then you can stay with me but then you have to go back to daycare alright?"

The little boy pondered the idea for a moment and slightly nodded his head. "Otay."

"Alright then. Let's go get some lunch." Derek said smiling and holding out his hand to his son. The two walked hand in hand to the cafeteria. Once they got inside, Derek noticed Dillon's eyes go wide in horror.

"What is it buddy?"

"Is loud dada."

"I know. Let's go pick what you want to eat and we can eat outside. It's a little quieter out there."

"That." Dillon said pointing to the chicken salad sandwich and french fries on the menu board as Derek picked him up.

"What can I get for you?"

"We're going to have a chicken salad sandwich and a side of fries, a salad and these." Derek motioned to the cashier, holding up some drinks. They got their food and walked outside to the tables to eat. After Derek had followed his son to a table, the two guys sat down and began to eat.

"So dada is going fishing this weekend. You want to come bud?" Dillon pondered the idea for a moment but ultimately agreed with a simple nod of his head.

"Okay. Now we just have to ask mommy." Again another simple shake of his head. Derek had always noticed that his son is quiet compared to most children his age, how loud noises bother him and how he can never express his feeling or say what he wants to without getting frustrated. Sometimes he worried that maybe his son, Dillon Christopher Shepherd, was in fact autistic, but he and his wife Meredith had always pushed the thought to the side, thinking that it could just be a phase.

Just as he was thinking about her, he looked to his right and there was his wife, along with Christina, Lexie and Alex.

"Hey Dil, look behind you." He said as he pointed at the figures walking toward them. The small boy turned around and almost immediately, his eyes lit up with joy.

"Mama!" Meredith and the others set their food down and Meredith walked over to pick up her son.

"Hey baby. Did your dada get you from the daycare to bring you to lunch?"

"He actually snuck out. I told him he could stay with me until I go to surgery at 4." Derek told his wife who nodded her head and looked at her son.

"You snuck out of daycare? You can't do that baby, okay?"

"Otay." He said quietly, but just audible.

"I don't want to hear about you getting out anymore okay mister?" Meredith told him firmly. Dillon smiled and nodded his head to his mommy in response.

The group sat eating their lunches and talking about what surgeries they had lined up for the rest of the day. As Christina practiced her one handed ties with her left hand, she noticed her little nephew watching her closely.

"Do you want to try Dillon?" Dillon shrugged his shoulders and then shyly nodded his head yes.

"Okay, so you just do this." Christina said as she demonstrated what to do. He took the thread into his hands and did exactly as Christina told him. Christina looked at him, wide-eyed, her jaw slightly hanging.

They young boy handed her back the thread and smiled. "Damn Shepherds." She said in awe of how even the youngest Shepherd could do a perfect tie with his left hand.

Everyone laughed at Christina's comment as the group ate their lunch together. It was only when Dillon's head hit the table minutes later, did everyone quiet down and focus their attention on him.

"Aww." Lexie drew out.

"The little guy fell asleep." Alex said with a smile on his face.

"I'm surprised that he's only just now falling asleep. He hasn't been sleeping through the night. He'll wake up around 4 am and he doesn't go back to sleep." Meredith informed the others of what was going on, concern and worry evident in her voice and on her face.

Derek picked up the small boy and settled his sleeping figure onto his lap. The group talked for about another hour before Lexie's pager went off.

"Gotta go. 911 to the pit."

"I have a surgery in 25 minutes." Christina said happily.

"I have to check on Robbins' post ops before my surgery." Alex said before he too got up and left. Meredith's pager went off too.

"911 to the pit." She said standing up. "I'll see you later. I love you guys." She smiled and winked before kissing her husband and sleeping son.

"We love you too." Derek stood up with the sleeping toddler in his arms and carried him into the hospital to sleep in one of the on-call rooms. Laying down next to him, Derek had found himself just as tired. He drifted off to sleep with his arms around his son.

Derek's eyes snapped opened to a heavy feeling in his chest. When he focused, he realized Dillon had woken up and that the heavy feeling in his chest was his son sitting on his chest.

"You okay buddy?"

Dillon nodded his head while holding up his dad's pager. Derek took his pager and read what it said. He hadn't realized that his pager started going off.

"Okay bud, I have to go so you have to go back to daycare okay?"

"No!"

"Come on Dillon, I have to go to surgery. Don't worry, mommy's going to pick you up in a little while."

"But no wanta go dada." Dillon started crying.

"C'mon Dillon. Don't cry son." Derek continued to try to calm his son down but he wouldn't calm down. The little boy was close to a complete tantrum. Derek picked up his son and held him tightly against his chest in hopes of relaxing him.

Alex Karev walked into the on- call room with a loud sigh. Soon after he noticed the cry of a kid. Looking up, he noticed he noticed his nephew, Dillon.

"Hey Dillon. Hey Derek." Alex walked around to the other side of Derek to get face to face with Dillon. The crying little boy looked up and into the eyes of Alex.

"What's wrong with him?"

"My pager went off reminding me I have surgery in 20 minutes and I told him it was time to go back to daycare. He started crying and he has been for the last 10 minutes." Derek said with a look of sadness on his face.

"Here. Give him to me. I'll calm him down and bring him down to…d-a-y-c-a-r-e." Alex said looking at Dillon and then spelling out the last word like it was cursed.

"Are you sure Karev, you don't have to do that. I can just bring him to Meredith."

"Mer's still in surgery. I can at least keep him until then if I can't get him to calm down."

"Thanks Karev." Derek said as he handed Dillon over to him and pressed a kiss to his son's forehead. He left the room and hurried off to his surgery. Alex was now faced with a task: getting Dillon to calm down and getting him to daycare.

Alex spent the next 15 minutes calming down Dillon and trying to convince him that it was time for him to go to daycare. After 30 minutes, he finally agreed and Alex and Dillon set off toward the daycare center. As they passed the OR hallway, they ran into Meredith.

"Hey Alex. Hey baby!"

"Mama!" Dillon hugged Meredith's legs and squeezed as tight as he could for a barely three year old. She lifted the little boy into her arms as she gave him a kiss.

"Have you been crying?" She looked over to Alex, hoping he would tell her and why.

He nodded his head and said, "He's been crying for like the last 45 minutes."

"Aw. Dillon why were you crying?"

"Dada try take me to daycare."

"That's where we were headed now."

"No that's fine Alex. I think I'm going to take the rest of the day off and take Dillon home. Thank you." Meredith smiled to Alex.

"Of course Mer."

"Say bye-bye to Uncle Alex, Dillon." Dillon waved with a small smile to Alex and Alex returned it with a smile and a goodbye.

As Meredith walked off with Dillon, she too wondered if Dillon was autistic. It seems as though not all of the symptoms were there but still, enough of them were. She needed to talk with Derek about what they should do and if it was necessary for them to take Dillon to a doctor about it. Meredith didn't want to eliminate the possibility that this was still only something that he would eventually grow out of.

She brought Dillon up with her to the chief to tell him that she was going to be taking the rest of the day off to spend with her son. She explained the meltdown he had about going to daycare and the Chief was very understanding. He wanted to know how the boy was doing and Meredith expressed some concerns about his development. Richard explained to Meredith that it was important to see a doctor about it all and in the meantime just relax and keep doing what they've been doing in the meantime.

Meredith went and changed out of her scrubs and walked out of the hospital with her son latched onto her hand, trying his best to match her paces with his little legs. When Meredith and Dillon got to the car, she buckled him into his seat and took off for home. When they got home Meredith sent Derek a text to let him know she went home early.

" _Hey. I took the rest of the day off to come home and spend some time with Dillon. Alex told me about his meltdown. We love you._ "

She set about making dinner while she had set Dillon up with his favorite movie, Monsters Inc. He sat on the floor, with his blanket that he took everywhere with him, and his Mike Wazowski stuffed toy. He had a couple of his toy cars around him too. Meredith smiled at the sight and secretly snapped a picture of him and sent it to Derek. Meredith looked back at him and couldn't help but notice how the toy cars had been lined up meticulously. She told herself to just relax. Seconds later a reply came from Derek.

" _Okay. I have to finish up some paperwork, but I'll be on my way soon. I will see you at home. I love you both too._ "

It was no more than forty- five minutes later when Meredith was in the kitchen when she heard the front door open.

"I'm home." Derek said. Meredith walked out of the kitchen to see her husband knelt down by their son with a big bag behind his back. Dillon was still unaware of his presence, being so focused on his favorite movie. Derek put his hand on Dillon's shoulder and he jumped and yelped, terrified at the all too sudden presence behind him.

"Hey pal, its okay. It's just me." Dillon jumped to his feet with his stuffed toy in hand and threw his arms around his daddy's neck.

"Dada." Dillon whispered and Derek smiled. Derek picked Dillon up and walked the short distance to his wife.

"Hey you." He said as he gave her a loving kiss on her lips.

"Hey yourself." She said back with a little smile.

"How was your day?"

"Good. I got to come home early, clean up, make dinner and watch a movie with Dillon. How was your day?"

"Pretty good. The day kid of breezed by." Derek smiled and tickled his son's stomach causing a little giggle to escape him.

"What is that?" Meredith asked Derek warily.

"Mer, I know we said no more toys for a while since he got so many for his birthday and because there's about a thousand of them already around here, but I just had to after the day he's had."

"You give in too easily, but okay I agree." Derek smiled at Meredith and kissed her.

"Hey buddy, look what dada got from the store for you today." Derek set him down on the floor and scooted the bag toward him.

"Was init?" He questioned curiously.

"I don't know bud, you have to look in it." He opened the bag and Meredith and Derek chuckled when his eyes went big in surprise.

"Is for me?" He said excited about his new Monsters Inc. Sulley stuffed toy. Meredith walked over and grabbed took the toy out of the bag for Dillon.

"Yes baby, your dada got it all for you."

"Fank you dada." Dillon said as he hugged Derek's legs. Derek picked him up and kissed him.

"You're welcome buddy. Now what do you say we eat dinner and then we open it." Dillon thought about it for a moment but eventually nodded his head. After the three of them had eaten dinner together and cleaned up, Dillon rediscovered his new toy. He pushed the box that Sulley was in, into the kitchen and went and tugged on Meredith's pant leg. She turned around to see a box and a little boy with a pleading look on his face. Meredith worked on opening the box while Derek picked him up.

"So what did you do today after mama brought you home?"

"She clean and watch my movie with me." Dillon said quietly but still audible with his hands on Derek's cheeks.

"Oh really? What movie did you and mommy watch?" Already knowing the answer because the same movie had been played constantly in the house for the last month.

"Monsers Inc!" Meredith had gotten the new toy open and threw the packaging away. When she brought it over to Dillon, his excitement was uncontainable. Derek and Meredith just smiled at each other, happy to see how happy their baby was.

After Meredith had given Dillon his bath, she and Derek sat in his room with him until he fell asleep. He had told them he didn't want a bedtime story tonight, but he just want them to lay with him and his two Monsters Inc. stuffed toys.

When Meredith noticed he was almost asleep, she kissed his forehead and said, "Goodnight baby. Mommy loves you." Derek leaned over and did the same, leaving a kiss on his forehead and saying, "Goodnight, buddy dada loves you."

As they walked out of the room, they both heard a barely audible, "'Wuv too." They smiled and walked to their bedroom crawling in and immediately turning off the lights.

"Goodnight Mer, I love you."

"Goodnight Derek, I love you too."

They were both woken up out of dead sleep at 1 a.m to the sound of shrill screams from across the hall. They both sat upright and jumped out of bed to go across the hall and comfort their son. They ran in and turned on the light and noticed that Dillon was crying. Meredith picked him up in an attempt to comfort him but he just kept screaming. She squeezed him tight in the hug and rubbed his back in hopes that what Cristina had told her she'd learnt from Dr. Dixon, would work. Derek ran downstairs to fill up his drinking cup with water for him. By the time he came back, Meredith had calmed him some, but he was still shaking and crying.

"Bring him back to our room." Meredith nodded started to walk out, Derek following closely behind, only stopping to turn off the light. Once they got into their room, Meredith still held onto Dillon tightly, as he was still sobbing and shaking. Derek ran his hand back and forth across his back hoping that would help some. They sat there, doing just that for thirty minutes before he completely calmed down. Meredith lifted him from her shoulder to look at his face. His eyes were puffy and his face tear stained. Meredith sat him on the bed while she went to the en suite bathroom to grab a wet towel to wipe his face.

After she wiped his face, she came back into the room and laid down next to her son and husband.

"Lay down Dil, okay bud. Just lay with mama and dada." Derek said. He nodded his head and laid under the covers with Meredith and Derek. Meredith and Derek laid on each side of Dillon watching him closely. They were surprised when he turned over and he was fast asleep. This meant they could get some sleep of their own.

Each saying "Goodnight and I love you" one last time before they fell asleep, they went to sleep without any trouble, the events of the night wearing any energy they had left completely thin.


	2. Chapter 2

Meredith had been called into the hospital at 4 am. So much for sleep. One of her patients needed to go in for an emergency surgery. The surgery had lasted a few hours and by the time it was done, it was time for her to start her shift.

She dragged her tired body through the halls, hoping to catch a little shut eye. Her husband had the day off so he was at home with their son and probably sleeping in, unless Dillon had woken up again. Owen passed Meredith in the hall and stopped her.

"Hey, everything's still on for tonight?" He asked.

"Yep. Are you still bringing the pies?"

"Of course. Five freshly baked from Seattle's finest bakery." They laughed.

"Good. Well then, I'll see you tonight."

"Alright." Meredith continued her journey down the hall where she ended up in front of an on-call room. She walked in and laid down. Completely exhausted she fell asleep in no time.

Dillon woke up with a sore throat and itchy eyes. It was really hot. Kicking off the covers, he rolled over to ask his mommy for something to drink. Noticing she wasn't there, he panicked. He rolled over and saw his dad's sleeping figure, which caused him to calm a little. He put his hand on Derek's cheeks and patted them. Derek came around to the feeling and slowly opened his eyes. He grabbed Dillon's hand in his and kissed his palm.

"Dada!" He said, his voice hoarse.

"Good morning monkey." Derek smiled.

"Mama?"

"She's at work monkey. She'll be back this afternoon." Dillon didn't say anything. He just put his head down on Derek's chest. He felt the warmth of Dillon's cheek against his chest and he got a little worried.

"Dillon sit up for a minute bud." Dillon sat up and Derek took the opportunity to press his hand against his forehead.

"You're hot buddy. You need to lay down." Dillon broke out in a fit of coughs. Derek reached over to his bedside table to grab Dillon's cup. Handing it to him, Dillon drank all of the water in the cup. He laid back down after handing the cup to Derek.

"Are you hungry?" Dillon nodded his head. Derek picked him up and carried him downstairs.

"What do you want to eat monkey?" Dillon shook his head.

"Nothing?" Now he shook his head yes. Derek looked at him confused.

"So you're not hungry?"

"Nope." Dillon spoke. Derek just shook his head confused.

"Well what is it then?"

"Lay down." Derek picked him back up, walked into the living room and set him down on the couch. Derek began to walk away when he felt Dillon pull on his hand. He knelt down in front of him on the couch.

"What's wrong Dillon?"

"Lay me." He knew what Dillon was trying to say but he saw he was having trouble thinking about what to say.

"I will, I'm going to grab your pillow and blanket and then I will come back and lay with you." Derek jogged back up the stairs and grabbed his pillow and blanket and his stuffed toys. He knew Dillon would send him back up for it if he didn't grab them. He stopped in his room to grab his phone. When he came back downstairs he noticed Dillon had stacked all of the medical journals that were sitting on the table, into one perfect pile. It uneased Derek a little bit. He pushed thought aside and called out to Dillon from the stairs.

"I grabbed your Monsters Inc. toys."

"Wha?" Derek thought that as strange. He walked closer and sat on the couch and repeated the same thing to him. This time he understood clearly and smiled wide.

"Fank you." Derek smiled and laid out his pillow and blankets on the couch. He walked over to the TV and put the movie 'Toy Story' into the Blu-ray player. He picked up his son and laid him down on the couch with him. He pulled the covers up over him, when he felt his small figure shiver.

"Are you okay Dil?" He nodded his head and curled into his dad, getting comfortable to watch the movie. Derek checked his phone and read the text message from Meredith.

" _Hey. Sorry to leave so early this morning, had a repair to do._ " Derek smiled and started to reply.

" _Hey. Good Morning. Saving lives is perfectly fine with me._ " The phone started ringing a few seconds later.

"Hello?" Derek asked with a smile on his face.

"Hey. Is Dillon awake?"

"Yeah. We're laying down on the couch and watching Toy Story. He's sick."

"Is he okay?"

"Not sure. He's not talking much. He's just laying down."

"Can you put him on the phone for me?"

"Of course. Give me two seconds."

"Hey monkey? Mommy's on the phone and she wants to talk to you." Dillon slowly turned around and Derek held the phone to his ear.

"Say hello."

"Hello?"

"Hi baby. Good morning." Dillon's face lit up with excitement.

"Mama!"

"Baby! What are you doing?"

"I washing with dada." Meredith would've thought he meant washing clothes if Derek hadn't already told her they were watching a movie.

"What movie are you and dada watching?"

"Toy Sory!" Dillon soon broke out in a fit of coughs. Once they finally settled down Meredith began to speak to him.

"Are you alright Dillon?"

"Yep. You go home mama?"

"I'll be home in a few hours. Remember Aunt Lexie and everyone is coming over tonight."

"Otay. Here dada."

"Okay I love you."

"Wuv too." Dillon pushed the phone that Derek was holding away from his ear and turned back around.

"Hey."

"Hey, he doesn't sound too good."

"Yea. I'm just going to lay down with him."

"Okay. I'll see you this afternoon. I love you."

"I love you too Mer." With that Derek hung up the phone and set it on the table. He settled in on the couch behind Dillon. He payed close attention to Dillon's fever.

Meredith walked down the hall and put her phone back into her lab coat pocket.

"Meredith?" She turned around seeking out the voice that was calling out for her.

"Chief."

"How did Dillon make out yesterday?"

"He relaxed eventually, but today he's sick." Richard turned his hand over to look at his watch.

"Then what are you doing here? Go home, be with your sick son." Meredith smiled at Richard and said thank you. She walked to the residents lounge and changes back into her clothes, grabbed her purse and her keys and took off for home. When she walked in, she was greeted with the cutest sight. There was Dillon laid on top of Derek asleep with his mouth hanging slightly open. Underneath him was Derek, with an arm wrapped protectively around Dillon and his mouth also slightly open. Meredith used the time to sneakily snap a picture. She stood there for a minute, just admiring her life. She smiled at the two guys on the couch, thinking about how crazy it was that Dillon was Derek's carbon copy.

Meredith ran upstairs to change into something more comfortable. When she came back downstairs she went to the kitchen to grab something to eat. She came back in the living room and settled herself onto the couch, in the only space that wasn't taken by the two sleeping guys. She too found herself slipping to sleep. When they all woke up around 2, Dillon had been excited to see his mommy. Derek and Meredith decided they'd spend the time they had before the small party tonight, in the house getting ready.

Derek took Dillon up for his bath. He watched as Dillon watched his toy boat float across the water. After he washed Dillon up, he went to wrap him up in his towel but Dillon bolted from the bathroom. He ran out of the bathroom chasing Dillon. Dillon looked behind him and ran straight into Meredith. Derek caught him and wrapped him in the towel. He took him back to his room and got him dressed in a pair of black jeans, a blue collared shirt and a pair of shoes. Dillon put his hands up, telling Derek he wanted him to pick him up. Derek picked him up and carried him to his and Meredith's room. Derek set him down on the bed and he sat quietly until Derek had changed into a new shirt.

Meredith was downstairs getting everything ready when she heard the doorbell ring. She walked to the door, knowing it was Owen and Cristina. Derek was carrying Dillon downstairs and tickling him while he laughed hysterically. Owen greeted Meredith while Cristina started to talk about her horrifying day of no surgeries. Meredith was laughing at Cristina's horrified face. Owen looked at Derek and Dillon and smiled at them. Derek set Dillon and walked into the kitchen with Owen, while Dillon went to go play.

As more people friends showed up, Dillon got a little more uncomfortable. He felt trapped and he didn't like so many people around him at once. He walked over to the corner where the recliner was and sat behind it. Awhile passed before a couple of people headed home. The only people left were Christina and Owen, Alex, Mark and Lexie. Owen noticed Dillon in the corner and walked to him. He crouched down next to him in the corner and sat down.

"Hey little man." Dillon said nothing back. He put his hands around his knees and started rocking back and forth.

"Why are you sitting in the corner all alone?"

"Is quiet." Dillon whispered. He broke out into a silent bout of tears. Owen's heart broke at the sight and sound.

"Hey don't cry little man." Owen picked up Dillon and walked into the kitchen with him. Derek and Mark, who were in deep conversation about the Yankees, heard the crying and looked to where Owen had just walked in the kitchen with Dillon.

"What's wrong?" Derek got up with a worried look on his face.

"He said it was too loud and started crying. His body temperature is pretty hot too." Owen passed Dillon to Derek. Mark tried to help comfort Dillon but his cries only seemed to get louder. Meredith, Lexie and Christina walked in from outside and Meredith immediately became worried.

"Meredith. Can you grab the thermometer?" Meredith went upstairs and into the bathroom to grab the thermometer and came back down with it. She told Dillon to hold still while she took his temperature. She put the thermometer in his ear and waited for the beep.

"106. Oh my god."

"Get him on the couch and lay him down." Owen said, going with Mark to get a couple of ice packs. Owen hurried to the living room and put a couple of ice packs on him. He came over to kneel down by him.

"I go home mama. Home."

"We are at home baby. Just lay down okay."

"He's confused. That's typically caused by a high fever." Meredith sat with Dillon for a while, just holding him and hoping he was going to be alright. Mark and Lexie had just left, each getting pages to the hospital. Owen came over one last time and took his temperature.

"104.7. It hasn't gone down much but the ice packs are helping. I think if you keep a close eye on him tonight, he should be okay but if his fever goes up again, bring him into the hospital."

"Okay. Thank you Owen." Owen and Christina said their goodbyes and headed back to the hospital. Derek came back to the couch and sat on the other side of Dillon. Derek picked him up and settled him on his lap.

"My car. Car dada." Dillon pointed to his green truck on the floor.

"No cars tonight bud. It's time to go to sleep."

"No. No want to."

"Dillon, it's late. We're not playing with anymore toys tonight." Derek said firmly. Dillon screamed and tried to squirm out of Derek's lap.

"Dillon, we don't scream." Meredith said. Dillon screamed again and then another time. He began to flail his arms and scream and cry. Derek was telling him to calm down when Dillon hit him across the face. Derek knew that he didn't do it on purpose, but he was just throwing a tantrum.

"Alright Dillon." Derek held Dillon's arms down so he couldn't hit again. He still screamed at the top of his lungs. Derek found that the tighter he held Dillon, the faster he calmed down. It took about 15 minutes until Dillon was completely calm and quiet.

"Are you hungry Dillon? You didn't eat anything at dinner."

He shook his head and curled up between Meredith and Derek, while they watched a movie. Derek turned off the TV while Meredith tidied everything up. Derek picked Dillon up and Meredith led the way up the stairs. They stopped in Dillon's room to change him into his pajamas and put him in bed. Derek and Meredith both kissed his forehead before walking out and turning off the lights. They walked to their room and changed into their night clothes before crawling into bed.

"Mer?"

"Yeah?"

"I think it's time we talked to someone about Dillon. I know we said he is fine and it's just a phase, but we can't ignore it anymore. Especially not after the last couple of weeks."

"I know Derek, I do. I was thinking that it was time too. But whatever the doctor says, changes nothing."

"Of course not Mer. He's still our baby. I'm just worried you know?"

"Me too Derek." They laid still in the bed, not saying anything. They heard the small pattering of feet down the hallway. Soon enough there was little Dillon at the foot of their bed with tears in his eyes. Meredith leaned forward and settled him on the bed between her and Derek.

"What's wrong honey?" Dillon turned his body into Derek's and cried more.

"Meredith. He's burning up." Meredith pressed her hand to his forehead and agreed with Derek.

"We need to go to the hospital." Meredith got up and threw on a pair of jeans and shoes, as did Derek. Meredith went to Dillon's bedroom to grab a change of clothes for him. The family hurried out to the car, Derek only stopping to grab Sulley and Mike Wazowski for Dillon. They drove to the hospital and took Dillon right into the emergency room. Lexie was working the ER tonight.

They waited around for a few minutes before Tyler spotted them.

"Dr. Grey? Dr. Shepherd?" Tyler ushered them through the door to a bed in the ER. Derek set Dillon down on the bed and he held on tight to Derek's shirt and started screaming. Arizona looked across the ER and noticed the Shepherds. Derek was still battling with Dillon to let go of his shirt, but he had stopped screaming.

"Meredith, Derek? What's going on?" Arizona hurried over. Dillon had become the hospitals favorite person. He was always cheery, playful and funny, even if he couldn't communicate with everyone.

"His fever went up again." Arizona took Dillon's temperature as best as she could while he was squirming around.

"105." Arizona sat on the bed with Dillon and calmed him. It took a few minutes but she did it.

"Okay Dillon, I'm just going to feel around your tummy and back okay?" Dillon didn't respond or acknowledge her. It was as if she hadn't said anything. Arizona thought it as strange for such a young child to be exhibiting the teenage ignoring act. She felt around his back first, looking at him for any signs of discomfort. She noticed the repeated blinking of his eyes every so often, like something was in them. Arizona felt around his stomach and to see if there was anything unusual.

"When was the last time he ate?" Arizona asked suspicious of something.

"He refused to eat all day. Derek had to force him to eat some of a grilled cheese?" Meredith said, the worry evident in here voice. Meredith and Derek may have been doctors, but they were finding out that the situation was much different on the parent's side.

"Any vomiting?"

"None."

"Complaints of pain?"

"He hasn't said anything about pain. Then again he doesn't talk often." Derek said sadly.

"It's not appendicitis. Dillon can you lift up your shirt for me?" Dillon kept his eyes looking up and away from Arizona. Arizona got a little closer and whispered to Dillon. "Hey Dillon, do you think you could take of your shirt so I can examine you." He just looked at her and then Derek. He lifted up his arms, and Arizona took it off him. Arizona did some more feeling around and she knew what was wrong when Dillon winced.

"You see how his stomach is sucked in? It's a reflex that very young children tend to do when they're anxious or when they're sick. He's developed a muscle strain in his abdomen, so that means he's been doing this for quite some time. As for the fever, he has a cold. His fever is quite high which worries me but all in all he should be fine. You can take him home for the night, but keep a close eye on him. I want you guys to bring him in tomorrow morning, at 8:30. We'll take some blood, run a couple of tests." Arizona said while playing with Dillon. Derek put his arm around Meredith and breathed out a sigh of relief.

"What kinds of tests?" Meredith said.

"Blood tests. Mainly a couple of motor skills tests and development tests. I know you've expressed some concerns about his development to me recently, so I just want to run some tests. If that's okay with the two of you?" Arizona questioned. She noticed his behavior and mannerisms lately and was a little worried.

"No, no. That's fine. We've agreed that its time." Meredith said.

"Ok then. It's official. I will see you all tomorrow morning." Arizona said happily and picked up Dillon, tickling him. She handed him over to Meredith.

"Thank you Arizona." Meredith said gratefully.

"Say thank you to Arizona, Dillon." Meredith said to him quietly.

"Fank you." Dillon said, his tone just above a whisper.

"You are most certainly welcome sweetie. Have a safe drive home guys."

"Thank you." Meredith and Derek said in unison. As the family walked out, they ran into Christina and Owen. They stopped and talked for a few minutes before Dillon started to whine. They parted ways and said goodnight. The family traveled home and got in the house. Meredith went and changed Dillon into his pajamas and grabbed his little blanket that he carried everywhere with him, and brought him to hers and Derek's room for bed. She walked in just as Derek was sliding into bed with Dillon's Monsters, Inc. toys. She laid him down in the bed next to Derek and changed back into her own pajamas. She slid into bed, curling up close with her son and her husband. Derek reached across the small body that was in between them and laid his hand on Meredith's shoulder.

"I guess there was no fighting sleep tonight. And he's a bit cooler now." Meredith smiled and said while looking down at the little figure. She leaned down to kiss her son's forehead and the across to kiss Derek.

"I love you Derek." She said closing her eyes.

"I love you too Meredith." He replied, doing the same.

 **Sorry I took a while to update. I broke my shoulder last week and between that and school, I have had no time to do anything! Just a little background on why I'm writing this story. Autism is a huge deal and I'm surprised Shonda had never incorporated it into the show. My brother has autism, so everything that I've written and will write about are things that I have experienced from an outsiders POV.**

 **I hope you all enjoy the story so far! More to come in a few days.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Derek woke up to the sound of screaming. He shot up from he was just asleep and bolted towards the noise. He ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time to see what was wrong. He followed the noise into the kitchen and saw Meredith sitting with Dillon at the table in the dining room.

"What's wrong?" Derek sat down on the chair next to Dillon. Dillon just continued to cry.

"He woke up crying. That's why I brought him down here, so you wouldn't wake up. Guess that plan failed. Now he's refusing to eat." Meredith looked frustrated and on the brink of tears. Derek walked over to her and put his arms around her.

"Hey, hey. He'll be okay Mer. I'll get him to eat something. Just go upstairs and get ready, okay?" She nodded and walked away. Derek sighed and walked over to his son and picked him up.

"Dillon, you've got eat something before we go." Derek opened the refrigerator for him to look inside.

"Bye bye?"

"Yes, Dillon we're going bye bye in a little while, that's why mama and dada need you to eat." He pointed to the cereal that Meredith had grabbed out of the cabinet. Derek made him his cereal and set it down in front of him at the table. He sat down at the table with Dillon while he ate silently. He really only took three or four bites before he altered his focus to the mail on the table. Derek sighed. He was really worried about his son. He knew Meredith was too and he knew that Meredith almost broke this morning.

"You all done?" Derek asked Dillon but he got no answer. He got a closer and said it again.

"Dillon, are you done?"

"Yes." He whispered.

"Okay. Let's go get ready." Derek carried him up to his room and got him ready. He had to call his name a few times to get him to hear him but he was ready nonetheless. Derek took him into the bathroom with him to brush his teeth. After they were done, Derek ran into his own room to get himself ready. He walked in just as Meredith was finishing up, Dillon hot on his trail. Once Derek was finished getting ready, he and Meredith grabbed Dillon and headed out the door. Once again, Derek had to stop and grab his Monsters, Inc stuffed toy for Dillon.

The family drove to the hospital in complete silence. Meredith and Derek each reflecting on everything silently. They were worried about their baby.

"Where goin mama?" Dillon asked from the back seat. Meredith turned around and answered him.

"We're going to the hospital honey." She said back to him. Derek looked over at her and saw the worry written all over her face. He reached over and held her hand, silently reassuring her that everything was going to be okay.

"Okay Dillon, just one more. Alex is going to get some blood." Arizona told him. She had Alex on her service today, which she arranged so that Dillon would feel slightly more comfortable while he was getting his work up done. At this point, Dillon was crying. He didn't like the shots. Meredith was trying to hold him still but it wasn't working very well. Alex distracted him by talking to him about his toy.

Once Alex finished, Dillon had completely calmed down. Arizona had let Meredith and Derek know that she was just going to take Dillon in an exam room and she and Alex were going to do a developmental screening. Meredith took to busying herself with some work. Derek went to go check on his patients while they awaited the news from Arizona and Alex.

"Hey Dillon can I see your car?" Alex said to Dillon rather loudly from across the room. Dillon made a face at the sound but gave no other reaction. Arizona tried as well and only got the same face made at her voice. Alex set down a little box of cars that the pediatrics unit had for the kids. He also placed down a small stack of books. Alex started to play with the cars and Dillon noticed and followed suit. Alex watched closely as Dillon took each car and expected it carefully. He lined them up perfectly. The red cars first, then the blue, the green and then the lone white car.

Arizona made a note in her book and looked back to Dillon. She watched as Alex and him sat and 'played' silently for 20 minutes before she gave Alex a look. He came over to her and she noticed that Dillon didn't even bat an eye as he left.

"He hasn't said a word in 20 minutes." Arizona said worried.

"I know."

"I want to check a few more things before I make a diagnosis." She told Alex, who nodded in response. Arizona walked over and sat next to Dillon.

"Hey Dillon its time to clean up." Dillon looked up at her and quickly averted his eyes to the floor, but he continued to play. Arizona repeated her sentence but this time Dillon said no. She had expected this. She picked up the toddler and carried him while Alex picked up the few toys.

Arizona and Alex took Dillon into the room to do a few verbal tests. After a few minutes, Arizona had all she needed. She laid out a couple of toys for Dillon while she talked over the final diagnosis with Alex.

"It's definitely ASD. Autism." Alex looked torn.

"How do we tell our friends that their son, has autism?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. We're just going to have to do it. On a professional basis." Alex set off to page Meredith and Derek.

As he was paging Derek, he saw him walk across the lobby and hand a chart to the nurse.

"Derek." Alex turned towards him.

"All done?"

"Yeah. We're just waiting for Meredith now." Meredith soon enough walked around the corner and greeted Derek with a kiss.

"Are we ready?" Meredith asked Alex who just nodded to her in response and led the two of them to the room.

Dillon was sitting down playing with a toy truck when he saw Meredith and Derek walk in.

"Mama!" He ran over to her and hugged her around her legs. She smile and picked him up.

"Hey baby." He looked to Derek.

"Dada."

"Hey little man." Meredith looked to Arizona. She sat down with them and explained everything while Alex played with Dillon. She explained that the blood tests just revealed that he had the flu. She explained the interactive tests she and Alex had performed and what they revealed. She squeezed Derek's hand tighter after she told them what each test revealed.

"Dr. Karev and I have looked at every possible aspect and we have concluded it to be a form of The Autism Spectrum Disorders, specifically, Autism." Alex had walked over with Dillon and sat with him.

"All it means is that you have a very special son. You guys have always been great with him. He's very well behaved. You guys just keep doing what you're doing and Dillon will be happy. You are great parents." Alex said. He saw this look in Mer's eyes. One that said 'how could I have missed this?' He needed to reassure her that they were excellent parents.

Arizona had some reading material printed out and the names of some informative websites. Sure, they may have been doctors, but this time they are parents and the experience would be so much different. She was through talking to them as their child's doctor.

"Derek, Meredith, I know this isn't the easiest thing to hear but anytime you need anything, anything at all, you can give me a call or just ask." Arizona spoke softly.

"You know I'm always around, no matter what, I there." Alex said in response. Meredith and Derek gave small appreciative smiles to them. They talked for another half hour before they were ready to go.

They walked out of the room, saying bye to Arizona and Alex and made for their way home. The car ride home was awfully silent. Dillon being asleep allowed for Meredith and Derek some time to think. Derek thinking about what was to come next for Dillon and Meredith had her thoughts completely focused on trying to keep it together for her son.

 **Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait. Having a shoulder operation definitely delayed everything. Anyway, today is my birthday so I wanted to leave all of you with a little gift. I promise, this time there will be more to come in the next two days. Also, I just wanted to say thanks for all of the awesome reviews and say that I appreciate it. I never thought the story would become at all popular. Thanks again everyone! Hope you enjoy!**

 **-Andrea**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! A couple of things before the chapter. First, I had trouble uploading the documents a couple of times so I** **used a different program instead. Second, thank you all for the reviews! It's awesome to have you all commenting on the** **story. I also want to say that yes, I understand and know fully well that this is not how autism is diagnosed.** **It took a few** **months for multiple doctors,** **psychiatrists** **and specialists** **to finally diagnose my brother. So believe me that I am not** **making light of** **the process or being** **insensitive, or I'm at least not trying to.** **For those of you that may have been offended** **or felt** **that I was belittling the topic, I wasn't.** **I am being as realistic as possible with the timeline.** **I plan on working everything into the story here in** **the next couple of chapters, so eventually, you will all see that I am taking this completely serious. That being said, I am happy for the comments and to see that other** **people are so knowledgeable about the topic.**

 **Now, I just want to say that I refuse to acknowledge the fact that Derek, Mark and Lexie are dead, or that Christina and Addison left (q** **uite childish, I know). They were some** **of my favorites, so I am also refusing (again childish, I know) to leave them out of the story,** **I just couldn't do that. I am quite stubborn haha.**

 **Anyway enough of my babbling, here is chapter 4. I hope you all enjoy!**

 **-Andrea**

It had been 3 days since Arizona had talked to the and told them what she was sure it was. She called them and referred them to great specialists, child neurologists, psychiatrists and speech pathologists. They were given a few days off to take Dillon to see these doctors. They had met with every doctor on the staff of Dr. Andros Wilson, as did Dillon. They each did tests for countless reasons, starting from speech and language clarity and receptiveness and communication skills, audiologic assessments, all the way down to social interaction skills.

It had been a long day already by the time they were sent home to wait for a call from the doctor. Meredith was frustrated, she wanted an answer. She needed to know if Arizona's suspicions had been right, but she knew something like this would take time. They were lucky they were able to get in and get an appointment this soon anyway.

She resolved to focus on the now. Derek drove them home. When they got home, Lexie and Christina were waiting on the doorstep for them.

"Finally. I thought I was going to be stuck with Lexipedia and without liquor." Derek laughed as everyone walked in the house.

"Mark is being such an ass. I'm so sick of it." Lexie groaned and sat down on the kitchen stool.

"You didn't did you? She didn't did she?" Meredith said asking Lexie and then asking Christina.

"I think she did." Christina said.

"What did I do?" Lexie was confused.

"Did you say 'I love you'?" Derek asked, walking into the kitchen with Dillon on his back and Owen trailing behind him.

"Yeah but.." She was cut off by the sound of Meredith and Christina groaning.

"Lexipedia, you never say it first. It's like, a rule." Christina said like it was only obvious.

"Have you learned nothing from us. I mean, look at Christina and I. We're married." Meredith said.

"And she has a kid." Christina said looking at Meredith. Meredith just gave her a look back.

"But that's not a bad thing. Dillon is cute." Derek and Owen just laughed at Christina trying to cover her tracks.

"Lexie, Mark is insecure, no matter what he says. He didn't say it back because he's not used to it. Now if he's avoiding you, just give him time." Derek explained nonchalantly.

"Wow. You two really are best friends." Christina said and took another drink of tequila. Derek smiled back.

"They're even alike in a lot of ways." Meredith said, shooting a small smirk his way.

"We are not." Derek said back.

"You're in denial Derek." Lexie said with a smile.

"Why is Derek in denial?" Mark said walking through the kitchen. Lexie just rolled her eyes and walked out to the living room. Meredith walked out of the room to go find Lexie.

"Ouch! Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow. God Meredith, that hurt!" She said after being dragged back into the kitchen by her ear.

"It wasn't meant to feel good. You two need to talk, right here, right now. Mark stop being an ass. She opened up, now you should because…" Meredith was cut off by the sound of a little voice behind her.

"Ass." Everyone moved their eyes to Dillon who just continued to play with his toy car across the refrigerator.

"Dillon, let's not say that one again okay?" No response. Meredith continued, "Everyday we try to get him to say new words and he doesn't until now."

"What am I supposed to say? I love you too? You know I do Lexie."

"I think Dillon wants to go play outside now." Owen said and he picked Dillon up and carried him out into the backyard.

"Ya know, I think he does." Derek agreed and followed Owen outside with two beers. They stayed outside for a while and eventually everyone joined them. They ate and laughed at Christina who was quite tipsy. Eventually everyone went home or had to go back to the hospital.

Meredith took her sleeping baby upstairs and got him into his pajamas. She laid down with him in his bed until Derek walked passed the room. She got up and shut off the light and walked to her own bedroom.

"I'm beat." She said yawning and changing into her pajamas.

"I'm passed beat." They crawled into bed and turned the lights out. They didn't realize there would be out as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

 **Bit of a slow chapter, I know. it'll pick up. I promise. I kind of just wanted to sort of fill in parts of their social lives to give a little more diverse content to this chapter.**


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